Backed with impressive
credentials as a musician, teacher and sideman, the persuasive East Coast
guitarist Ed Cherry takes his diverse experience with trumpeters Dizzy
Gillespie, Roy Hargrove and saxophonist Henry Threadgill to fashion a rather
rewarding career as a leader. His current “It’s All Good” (Posi-tone) builds on the classic
guitar-organ-drum format popularized by artists like Grant Green or Wes
Montgomery back in the day yet Cherry’s melodic flair and affinity for the
groove gives this combo a boldly updated sound.

Swing is the thing here
and Cherry’s trio stretches out on deeply felt originals, luscious standards
(“In A Sentimental Mood” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is”) and kick ass
versions of the Blue Note jazz classics, “Maiden Voyage,” “Chitlins Con Carne”
and Wayne Shorter’s “Deluge.” Pat Bianchi, a first-rate jazz organist with a
flair for funky riffs lays down a carpet of Hammond B-3 harmonics, an inviting
platform for Cherry’s off-the-hook licks. The drummer Byron Landham has played
with organist Joey DeFrancesco and guitarist Russell Malone so he’s perfect for
this gig, dishing out the soul jazz beats on his kit with righteous assurance.
Best of all is Cherry’s twist on Duke Pearson’s “Christo Redentor,” a track off
Donald Byrd’s iconic album, as well as his knock out arrangement of Bill Evan’s
“Blue And Green.” The trio brings the right amount of heat to the game and as
for Ed Cherry, he pulls “It’s All Good” together as an inspired exercise of
post-bop spontaneity.(11 tracks;
65:59 minutes) www.edcherrymusic.comwww.posi-tone.com